Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Garry Marshall
Produced by Laura Ziskin
Written by J.F. Lawton
Starring Richard Gere
Julia Roberts
Héctor Elizondo
Music by James Newton Howard
Cinematography Charles Minsky
Editing by Raja Gosnell
Priscilla Nedd
Studio Regency Enterprises
Distributed by Touchstone Pictures
Release date(s) March 23, 1990
Running time Theatrical cut
119 minutes
Director's Cut
125 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Italian
Japanese
Budget $14 million
Gross revenue $463 million

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy film. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, the film features Richard Gere, Julia Roberts and Hector Elizondo. Pretty Woman's plot centers on down-on-her-luck Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward who is hired by a wealthy businessman, Edward Lewis, to be his escort for several business and social functions, and their developing relationship over the course of Vivian's week long stay with him.

Originally intended to be a dark drama about prostitution in New York, the film was reconceptualized into a romantic comedy with a broader budget. The film was a critical success and became one of 1990's highest grossing films, and today is one of the most financially successful entries in the romantic comedy genre, with an estimated gross of $464 million USD.[1] Roberts received a Golden Globe Award for her role, and received a nomination for an Academy Award, in addition screenwriter J.F. Lawton was nominated for a Writers Guild Award and a BAFTA Award. The film was followed by a string of similar romantic comedies, including Runaway Bride (1999), which re-united Gere and Roberts under the direction of Garry Marshall once again.

Contents

Plot

Edward Lewis, a successful business man and "corporate raider", takes a detour on Hollywood Boulevard to ask for directions. Receiving little help, he encounters prostitute Vivian Ward who is willing to assist him in getting to his destination. After a car conversation, Edward ends up hiring Vivian to stay with him for a week as an escort for social events, Vivian advises him that it "will cost him", and he gives her $3000 and access to his credit cards. Vivian then goes shopping on Rodeo Drive, only to find that she is snubbed by saleswomen who disdain her because of her appearance. Initially, Hotel Manager Bernard Thompson (Elizondo) is also somewhat taken aback by her, but relents, and decides to help her buy a dress, even coaching her on dinner etiquette. Edward returns and is visibly amazed by Vivian's transformation. The business dinner is successful, but Edward is preoccupied with the deal afterward.

Vivian explains to Edward about her humiliation at the clothing boutique on Rodeo Drive the previous day. Edward takes Vivian on a shopping spree, after which she returns to the same shop that had snubbed her, telling the salesgirls they made a "huge mistake". The song "Oh, Pretty Woman" sets the scene for the famous shopping montage in the film. The following day, Edward takes Vivian to a polo match where he is interested in networking for his business deal. While Vivian chats to David Morse, the grandson of the man involved in Edward's latest deal, Philip becomes worried she is a spy. Edward reassures him by telling him how they met, and Philip then comes on to Vivian. When they return to the hotel, she is furious with Edward for telling him, and plans to leave, but he apologizes and persuades her to see out the week.

Edward leaves work early the next day and takes Vivian on a date to the Opera in San Francisco in his private jet. She clearly is moved by the music, and says "If I forget to tell you later, I had a really good time tonight." The two then make love, in a personal rather than professional way. Over breakfast, Edward offers to put her up in an apartment so he can continue seeing her, but she feels insulted and says this is not the "fairytale" she wants. He then goes off to work without resolving the situation. Kit comes to the hotel and sees that she has fallen for him, although Vivian denies it.

Edward meets Morse, about to close the deal, and changes his mind at the last minute. His time with Vivian has shown him another way of living and working, taking time off and enjoying activities for which he initially had little time. As a result, his strong interest towards his business is put aside. He decides that he would rather help Morse than takeover his company. Philip is livid, and goes to the hotel. Vivian is there and he blames her for changing Edward, then comes onto her again and then hits her. Edward returns and pulls Philip off of Vivian and makes him leave. Vivian leaves, and is seen back at home with Kit, packing up to leave for San Francisco to get her life together. Edward gets into the car with the chauffeur that took her home, and rather than going to the airport, he goes to her apartment and climbs up the fire escape, despite his fear of heights, with a rose in his teeth, to woo her. His leaping from the white limousine, and then climbing the outside ladder and steps, is a visual urban metaphor for the knight on white horse rescuing the "princess" from the tower, a childhood fantasy she'd told him about. The film ends as the two of them kiss on the fire escape.

Cast

Production

Pre-production

Pretty Woman was initially conceived to be a dark drama about prostitution in Los Angeles in the late 1980s.[2] The relationship between Vivian and Edward also originally harboured controversial themes, including the concept of having Vivian addicted to drugs; part of the deal was that she had to stay off cocaine for a week, because she needed the money to go to Disneyland. Edward eventually throws her out of his car and drives off. The movie was scripted to end with Vivian and her prostitute friend on the bus to Disneyland.[2] These traits, considered by producer Laura Ziskin to be detrimental to the otherwise sympathetic portrayal of her, were removed or incorporated into the character of Vivian's friend, Kit. These "cut scenes" have been found in public view, and some were included on the DVD released on the movie's 15th anniversary.[2] One such scene has Vivian offering Edward, "I could just pop ya good and be on my way", indicating a lack of interest in "pillow talk". In another, she is confronted by drug dealers outside The Blue Banana, and rescued by Edward and Darryl.

Pretty Woman bears striking resemblances to Pygmalion myths: particularly George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name, which also formed the basis for the Broadway musical My Fair Lady. It was then-Disney Studio President Jeffrey Katzenberg who insisted the film should be re-written as a modern-day fairy tale with qualities of a love story, as opposed to being the dark drama it was originally developed as. It was pitched to Touchstone Pictures and re-written as a romantic comedy. The original script was titled $3,000. (This title was changed because executives at Touchtone thought it sounded like a title for a Science Ficton film.)[3] It also has unconfirmed references to That Touch of Mink, starring Doris Day and Cary Grant.

Casting

Casting of Pretty Woman was a rather lengthy process. Marshall had initially considered Christopher Reeve for the role of Lewis, and Al Pacino turned it down.[4] Pacino went as far as doing a casting reading with Roberts before turning the leading role down.[5] Gere agreed to the project. Reportedly, Gere started off much more active in his role, but Garry Marshall took him aside and said "No, no, no. Richard. In this movie, one of you moves and one of you does not. Guess which one you are?" Julia Roberts was not the first-choice for the role of Vivian, and was not wanted by Disney. Many other actresses were considered at the time. Marshall originally envisioned Karen Allen for the role. When she declined, it went to many better-known actresses of the time including Molly Ringwald who turned it down because she felt uncomfortable with the content in the script, and did not like the idea of playing a prostitute. She has since stated in several interviews that she regrets turning the role down. Winona Ryder, a popular box-office draw at the time, was considered, and auditioned, but turned down because Marshall felt she was "too young", Jennifer Connelly was also dismissed for the same reason.[2]

Meg Ryan, who was a top choice of Marshall's, turned it down. According to a note written by Marshall, Mary Steenburgen was the first choice to play Vivian Ward. Michelle Pfeiffer turned the role down as well, because she did not like the "tone" of the script.[6] Daryl Hannah was also considered, but turned the role down because she believed it was "degrading to women".[6] Valeria Golino also turned it down as she did not think the movie could work with her thick Italian accent. Jennifer Jason Leigh had auditioned for the part, but later decided not to do the movie after she read the script because she felt it was sexist.[7] When all the other actresses turned down the role, a then 22-year-old Julia Roberts, who was relatively unknown at the time, with the exception of her Oscar nominated performance in the film Steel Magnolias (1989), was able to win the role. In addition, Demi Moore turned down the role of Vivian's best friend Kit De Luca.

Filming

Rodeo Drive is featured prominently in the film.

Pretty Woman's budget was not limited, therefore producers could acquire as many locations as possible for shooting on the films estimated budget of $14 million.[2] The majority of the film was shot in Los Angeles, California, specifically in Beverly Hills. The escargot restaurant called 'The Voltaire' was filmed at the Rex, now called Cicada. Filming of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel lobby interior was shot at the now demolished Ambassador Hotel. Filming commenced on July 24, 1989, but was immediately plagued by countless problems, including issues with space and time. This included Ferrari and Porsche, who had declined the product placement opportunity of the car Edward drove, because they did not want to be associated with soliciting prostitutes.[2] Lotus Cars UK saw the placement value with such a major feature film. This gamble paid off as Esprit sales tripled in 1990-1991. The company supplied a Silver 1989.5 Esprit SE, which was later sold.

The film's primary shooting commenced on July 24, 1989. Shooting was a generally pleasurable and easy-going experience for those involved, the films budget was broad and the shooting schedule was not tight.[2] While shooting the scene where Vivian is laying down on the floor of Edward's penthouse, watching I Love Lucy re-runs, in order to achieve a genuine laughter, Garry Marshall had to tickle Roberts's feet (out of camera range) to get her to laugh so hysterically, which is featured in the film. During the scene where Roberts sings along to Prince in the bath tub sliding down and dunking her head under the bubbles, Roberts came up and opened her eyes and saw that everyone had left even the cameraman, who got the shot. Additionally, during the love-making scene between Roberts and Gere, Roberts got so nervous that a vein visibly popped out of her forehead, she also acquired hives, and calamine lotion was given to clear them until shooting could resume.[2] Filming was completed on October 18.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, Pretty Woman opened at number one at the box office grossing $11,280,591 and averaging $8,513 per theater.[8] Despite the film dropping to number two in its second weekend, it grossed more in its second weekend, grossing $12,471,670.[8] It remained number one at the box office for four non-consecutive weeks and on the top ten for sixteen weeks.[8] The film has grossed $178,406,268 in the United States and $285,000,000 in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $463,406,268.[9] It was also the fourth highest-grossing film of the year in the United States[10] and the third highest-grossing worldwide.[11]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On Metacritic, Pretty Woman received an average score of 51 out of 100 from the 17 reviews it collected.[12] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a D, stating that the film "starts out as a neo-Pygmalion comedy" and with "its tough-hooker heroine, it can work as a feminist version of an upscale princess fantasy." Gleiberman also said that it "pretends to be about how love transcends money" and that it "is really obsessed with status symbols."[13] Although despite negative reviews, Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated that "Pretty Woman manages to be giddy, lighthearted escapism much of the time" and that "Ms. Roberts... is a complete knockout, and this performance will make her a major star."[14]

Awards

The film received four 1990 Golden Globe Awards nominations: Best Motion Picture, Best Actor for Richard Gere, Best Actress, which Julia Roberts won, and Best Supporting Actor for Hector Elizondo. The film also earned Roberts her second Academy Award nomination and her first nomination for Best Actress.

Win

Nominated

Music

Pretty Woman is noted for its musical selections and hugely successful soundtrack. The film features the song "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison, which inspired the movie's title. Roxette's "It Must Have Been Love" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1990. The soundtrack also features "King of Wishful Thinking" by Go West, "Show Me Your Soul" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "No Explanation" by Peter Cetera, "Wild Women Do" by Natalie Cole and "Fallen" by Lauren Wood. The soundtrack went on to be certified three times platinum by the RIAA.[15]

The opera featured in the movie is La Traviata, which also served as inspiration for the plot of the movie. The piano piece which Richard Gere's character plays in the hotel lobby was composed by and performed by Gere. Julia Roberts sings the song "Kiss" by Prince while Richard Gere's character is on the phone. Background music is composed by James Newton Howard. Entitled "He Sleeps/Love Theme", this piano composition is inspired by Bruce Springsteen's "Racing in the Street".

Soundtrack

  1. "Wild Women Do" - Natalie Cole
  2. "Fame '90" - David Bowie
  3. "King of Wishful Thinking" - Go West
  4. "Tangled - Jane Wiedlin"
  5. "It Must Have Been Love" - Roxette
  6. "Life in Detail" - Robert Palmer
  7. "No Explanation" - Peter Cetera
  8. Real Wild Child (Wild One)" - Christopher Otcasek
  9. "Fallen" - Lauren Wood
  10. "Oh, Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison
  11. "Show Me Your Soul" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Box Office Mojo". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=prettywoman.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-12. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 (DVD) Pretty Woman: 15th anniversary. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Touchstone. 2005. 
  3. ↑ Stewart, James B DisneyWar, page 110. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7432-6709-0
  4. ↑ Pretty Woman casting information and trivia at IMDB; accessed May 17, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Al Pacino interview by Larry King transcript". http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0706/15/lkl.01.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Darly Hannah pleased to decline Pretty Woman". http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/hannah%20pleased%20to%20decline%20pretty%20woman%20offer_1023365. 
  7. ↑ Boris Kachka (December 4, 2005). "Lone Star. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays an extroverted striver in Abigail’s Party. Now, that’s a stretch.". New York Magazine (New York Media Holdings, LLC.): 2. http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/theater/15247/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Pretty Woman (1990) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo (Amazon.com). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=prettywoman.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  9. ↑ "Pretty Woman (1990)". Box Office Mojo (Amazon.com). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=prettywoman.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  10. ↑ "1990 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo (Amazon.com). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1990&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  11. ↑ "1990 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo (Amazon.com). http://www.boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?view2=worldwide&yr=1990&p=.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  12. ↑ "Pretty Woman reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/prettywoman/. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  13. ↑ Owen Gleiberman (1990-03-23). Pretty Woman. Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,316998,00.html. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  14. ↑ Janet Maslin (1990-03-23). Movie Review - Pretty Woman - Review. The New York Times. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE2DD143EF930A15750C0A966958260. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  15. ↑ "Pretty Woman's soundtrack RIAA multi platinum award". www.riaa.com. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=pretty%20woman&perPage=25. Retrieved 2009-10-12. 

External links

Films directed by Garry Marshall
1980s
Young Doctors in Love (1982) · The Flamingo Kid (1984) · Nothing in Common (1986) · Overboard (1987) · Beaches (1988) · The Lottery (1989)
1990s
Pretty Woman (1990) · Frankie and Johnny (1991) · Exit to Eden (1994) · Dear God (1996) · The Other Sister (1999) · Runaway Bride (1999)
2000s
The Princess Diaries (2001) · Raising Helen (2004) · The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) · Georgia Rule (2007)
2010s
Valentine's Day (2010) · Dear Eleanor (2011) · New Year's Eve (2011)